A little Dark Age disagreement!

Last week some of the lads meet up at "The Mess" for a Dark Age game using Geoff's modified LoTR rules.

 The defenders formed up between the village and the hill top. Messengers were sent to the neighboring villages to seek assistance to defeat the enemy.

 The attacking force came out from the surrounding forests and advanced toward the defenders.

 After a couple of moves the two sides clashed on the hill top.

 The third warband from the attackers is about to join in the melee. At this same point friends of the defenders appear in the distance on horse back.

 Villagers preparing to defend what they can if they have to.

 The outnumbered defenders are finding it hard going but are hanging on hoping the cavalry will get to them in time.

 A couple of moves later and the attackers are splitting off some troops ready for the cavalry charge!

 Almost there....

 The cavalry smashed into the attacking force but without a lot of success.

 In the end it was too much for the defenders. They all dispersed in different directions. For the attackers it was now just a simple mopping up job on the village!

Thanks to Brad for the loan of his fig's. Shame you were unable to make it to this game mate.

Thanks to Wayne for the drinks.

Thanks to Geoff for basically running the game for me.

Crimean War in 15mm

Last nights game was based on the Battle of Malakoff (part of the Siege of Sevastopol) during the Crimean War.

15mm French v Russians using the Volley and Bayonet rules.

 To win the French (on the far side) were required to take the right hand redoubt. The only way to enter the redoubt is to first enter through the gaps in the wall and then take the redoubt from behind.

One of the French commands.

Russian defenders.

The Russian setup. Wall to wall defenses.

French high command.

 Right from the first move the French attacked. Each French command heading straight for one of the gaps each. Early success for the French on the right as they take the first line of earthworks.

 The Russian centre and left flank push back the French attacks but the casualties are mounting on their right flank.

The Russians counterattack and retake the earthworks. A costly exercise and the  Russian right begins to crumble. The red markers indicating that these guys have reached exhaustion and are no longer able to charge.

 The left flank is also under pressure but is still holding up well.

 Although the French have reached the gap on the left flank they run out of steam. The cost of several attacks against these earthworks is too much!

 The Russians move some troops to the right in an effort to retake the earthworks(again) but the French keep the pressure on....

 ...and push through and take the gap only to be counterattacked by the Russians coming to the aid of their comrades.

By this stage the French on the left have disintegrated and left the field. The centre French command is piling on the pressure but this has all been too much for the French and now the command on the right is rapidly running out of men. With so many casualties on the French side they are forced to withdraw.

In the end the Russians changed history and managed to hang on for a marginal victory.


Great game and again thanks to Adrian for supplying the troops and running the game and to Wayne for making the coffee!

Indian Mutiny

With some of the boys away on holiday still a few of us got together for a wee game.

15mm Indian Mutiny game using the Volley and Bayonet rules.

This game involved an Indian army besieging a British held fort with a British relief force on it's way.

The Indians are required to keep the British from entering the fort while the British just have to get some troops into the fort. For the British to enter the fort though, they will need to occupy both town sectors at the gates to the fort.

The Indians start with the fort surrounded, knowing that the British are coming but not knowing from which table edge or edges.

 The old Airfix "Fort Sahara" ( very nicely based by Adrian) is surrounded and under attack, with the two town sectors that need to be captured by the British before they can enter the fort.

At the start of the game.

 Knowing that at least some of the British would be coming on to the table directly in front of the fort the Indians have turned to face this probable threat.

A look at the inside of the fort.

Indian high command directing operations.

Transports arriving with more troops.

 As it happened the British brought their entire force on from the table edge nearest the main gates.

 The British had the advantage of better fire power and better quality troops but the Indians had numbers and were able to out flank the British. Due to the lack of fire power the Indians had no choice but to charge into the British while the British tried to shot their way through.

The town sectors under threat!

The green makers show which units are stationary, giving them more fire and melee dice.

 With casualties building up on both sides the British start to push the issue. They attack the town sectors and with the Indians failing their morale checks the British move in.
 On the far side the Indian cavalry and one other Indian command have already run away, but the one remaining command on that side have yet to lose a man.

 On the near side the outflanking manoeuvre has moved through and forced the remaining British cavalry to come across to this side of the battlefield. The Indians counterattack the town sectors and manage to gain one of them back.

 In the end it was just a bit too much for the British and the Indians hold on by a very narrow margin.

Here are a couple of extra photos of Adrian's handy work with the brush.

Thanks to Adrian for putting on the game, supplying  the troops and buildings and to Geoff for making the coffee!

A few weeks back we had a 28mm Dark Ages game at the Mess. Rodger forgot his trusty camera and had to use my wife's little compact model to take these images. I had promised to upload them to our blog way before now but some technical issues (driver error) prevented this until now.

The scenario concerned a Viking raid on an Anglo-Saxon village, with the Vikings having to find a cache of gold and pillage as much livestock as they could. The Vikings also had to contend with a force of Anglo-Saxons from another village that was coming to the rescue. We used a simplified version of the Lord of the Rings rules that gave us a flowing and enjoyable game. I can't remember who won but the Vikings managed to find the gold and snuffle some beef on the hoof. Due to a shortage available Viking figures we used some of our Renegade Anglo-Saxons as Vikings.

Saxons defending the village

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Saxons defending the piggery

The gold was hidden in the white building

An Ireland supporter and  Viking leader (me) contemplating an attack on the village 

Hand-to-hand fighting on the edge of the village

Chris 'the Berserker' Packer about to attack the village

Dave's Vikings attacking the centre of the village while Chris's force charge the stronger defences in support 

The skirmish between the Vikings and rescue party from another village

Chris's Vikings breach the walls and secure the gold